


Kuroko no PARKOUR!

by Arudon



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akafuri Freeform, Freerunning AU, M/M, Parkour AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 14:00:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5873128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arudon/pseuds/Arudon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a response to a tumblr request by Sesulxx (looking at you bro!)</p><p>In middle school, Furihata Kouki used to love engaging in the art of Freerunning, or as it's better known, Parkour. However, after an accident that almost cost him the use of his legs, Kouki moves on to a less dangerous sport upon entering high school: basketball. However, after an unfortunate incident involving a cat and an excitable husky, old instincts kick in, capturing a certain someone's attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Shigino Middle School Parkour Club

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ReizJaruu13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReizJaruu13/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would just like to say that I have no experience with parkour, but my friend does and he is very avid about it. I took the premise of this from a similar experience in my youth, in which an old abandoned factory that my cousin and I went nuts inside played a huge role. Neither of us ever got hurt though (amazingly), and to this day my parents have no idea. So don't go telling them! >: l
> 
> Also, Reiz-chan, this is for you as well! Thanks so much for being patient with me, so here's a gift in a pairing that I know you love just as much as I do! Happy Early Birthday!

_“Wooooohoooo!”_

Bright, chestnut brown eyes widened in excitement as the small boy flung himself through the air, the wind whistling by his ears and sending his fluffy brown hair flapping crazily about. Furihata Kouki’s infectious smile blossomed on his youthful face as he caught a glimpse of the chasm below him, the five story drop seeming to be nothing more than a few feet for the adventurous boy.

Kouki’s eyes immediately reverted back to his target as he the opposite roof hurtled towards him, the gravely surface becoming clearer every second to the brunette. Tucking his legs and arms in, the boy executed a perfect tuck and roll maneuver as he landed unscathed atop the roof-top. A bark of laughter escaped his lips, before he popped his head back up to look back over his shoulder in excitement.

Behind him, the silhouettes of his friends were superimposed upon the backdrop of the cityscape of Tokyo, the group of Freerunners all laughing and smiling along with him as they followed the brunette’s path across the maze roof-tops. “Nice jump Furi-chan!” one of them called out as he flew through the air, his form stretching out before landing right next to the brunette with a broad smile on his face. Kouki let out a laugh in response before high-fiving the fellow parkour enthusiast. “You too Kenta!” he said excitedly.

Within seconds, the rest of Kouki’s friends were joining him atop the roof, their hair all uniformly wind-blown and their spirits soaring just like their bodies. There were six of them in total: Kenta, Yuu, Noya, Junishi, Azaraki, and Shiro. And not a single one of them could claim to be older than fourteen years old.

Clad in identical jump-suits of red, blue, and neon green, they stood at the edge of the rooftop, the word “SHIGINO” printed in bright orange letters on the back. They had purchased the outfits from an online tailoring company after saving up all their allowances for a whole six months, a herculean feat for the hyperactive middle schoolers.

Needless to say, they were very proud of their uniforms.

Together, they composed the Shigino Middle School Parkour Club, an unofficially recognized group of students dedicated to the brilliant art of free-running and parkour, with Kouki as the unofficial ringleader.

Despite the teachers’ many attempts to shut them down, they still managed to hold regular meetings in the old, unused classrooms near the back of the school, where they would use the computer to scout out different areas of the city they could visit. And thanks to Azarki’s connections in the writing club, they had even managed to issue flyers in the school paper, advertising their club in hopes to get it formally recognized. In fact, that was how Yuu and Shiro had managed to join up with them.

Their exploits had even managed to get the attention of some of the inner-city pros, and a special article about them had been written in the outdoors section of Sports National. The famed Freerunner Akashi Sashosita had even publicly acknowledged their presence and encouraged them to continue in their exploits, something that had had the middle schoolers bouncing off the walls (literally) in celebration.

However, despite all their efforts, they were still unable to get more than a few local supporters. Thanks to the dogged persecution by almost the entirety of the Shigino staff, most of the student body considered the Freerunners to be delinquents and misfits, people to be actively avoided at all costs.

But that didn’t matter to them, because together they had been able to take the streets of Tokyo’s outskirts by storm, exploring the roof-tops on an almost day-to-day basis and constantly searching for new places to practice and perform.

To them, nothing was impossible. There was no obstacle they couldn’t overcome, no wall they could not scale. No gap they could not leap across or barrier the couldn’t strategize around!

They were the kings of the Sky, and Tokyo was _their_ domain.

“Come on!” Kouki shouted after they had all caught their breath, his chestnut orbs locked onto the half-finished skeleton of a parking garage about several blocks away.

Taking a running start, Kouki ran to the edge of the roof-top and kicked off, his legs flying out behind him before pulling back in to provide extra momentum. Reaching out with his hands, he snagged the edge of the next rooftop, his feet planting on the sides as he did so. Kicking down, Kouki propelled himself upwards, ascending to the top of the roof only to start running towards the next one.

Behind him, his friends were all following, performing tricks of their own but marveling at how quickly Kouki was able to traverse the urban landscape. His lithe and nimble body seemed to simply flow over any obstacle he encountered, propelling him over air vents and radio antennas as if they weren’t even there.

Kouki’s eyes widened as they locked onto a vertical wall of a platform at the edge of the last building between them and the parking garage. There was no vantage point that would allow him to circumvent it, but that was okay. He could just go up it. After all, it was only ten feet tall.

Piece of cake.

Sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him, the 5’4” boy hurled himself towards the vertical obstacle, appearing for all the world like he was about to smash into it face first. However, at the last possible moment, Kouki brought his left foot up and planted it on the wall, the durable tread of his shoes digging in to the brick work. Pushing down, Kouki was able to propel himself up the vertical plane, his other leg coming up as well to add another kick.

In just two steps, he had propelled himself seven feet in the air, and as his arms swung forward his fingers were able to snag the edge of the ledge as well. There wasn’t enough room for to over-grip, however, so Kouki immediately swung his legs up and pushed himself up again.

After all, he didn’t have the body strength to hang like some of the more professional free-runners could.

Kouki’s eyes widened when he heard a yelp from below him, and turning about, he looked down to see Kenta lying at the base of the wall flat on his butt, the other boy looking up at Kouki in amazement while he rubbed his lower spine in mild pain.

The brunette let out a laugh. Obviously, Kenta had tried to copy Kouki’s movements, but had failed to grab on to ledge due to his shorter height. Planting his feet on the edge, Kouki leaned down as far as he could and extended his hand, fingers outstretched as far as they could reach.

Comprehending the gesture, Kenta’s face once again lifted in a smile, and he quickly got back up on his feet and performed a running leap towards the wall, copying Kouki’s movements perfectly and managing to snag Kouki’s fingers at the last moment.

In a huff of effort, the brunette was able to haul his friend up the wall with him, where the shorter boy promptly collapsed on top of him, panting in elation. “Holy hell Furi!” Kenta panted, his face brightened with the biggest grin he could muster. “You are seriously amazing!”

Kouki smiled back, a nub of pride swelling in his chest. “Yes I am!” he said, before pushing the other boy off and sitting up. “But you better watch that mouth, or else Ne-san will wash it out with soap!” he said mischievously, before leaning back over the edge and offering his hand to the gathered boys below.

Seeing what he was doing, Kenta turned to help as well, and pretty soon the entire team was atop the rooftop, the hair all blowing in the wind and smiles of elation on their faces.

Turning, Kouki eyed the gap between the roof they were on now and the parking garage. There wasn’t much room, but if he launched himself just right he might be able to grab the edge of that pylon.

Nodding to himself, he waved his arms about to get his friends’ attention. “Alright! Make room, I’m gonna jump!” he said, to which everyone let out a cheer and backed up, giving the brunette plenty of room to make a running start.

“You got this Furi!” “Come on, show that building who it’s messing with!” “Yeah, you’re the best!” came the chorus of cries as Kouki mentally prepared himself, waving his arms back and forth to loosen up the blood flow.

His brown eyes flashed in concentration, before he pushed off with his feet and began to sprint towards the edge of the roof, his eyes fixed firmly on his target.

Leaping off the side, Kouki flung out his arms and legs like a cat, propelling himself through the air so that he didn’t end up falling short of his mark and plummeting seven stories to his death. Sure enough, the ledge he was aiming for rapidly came into grabbing distance, and swinging his arms forward Kouki snagged onto the ledge, sighing in relief as he fingers were able to wrap around the edge properly in an over-grip.

Behind him, he heard the cries of his friends as they cheered, their yells of elation and joy enough to spurn him on as he dangled off the edge. Still dangling off the edge, Kouki slowly walked his hands over to the left until he was able to release the ledge, dropping the meager two feet to land on the rough, unfinished concrete of the parking garage.

Turning back, he beckoned eagerly to his friends, who nodded and swiftly followed after him, some copying him exactly and leaping for the ledge, while others aimed straight for the slab of concrete Kouki was standing on.

Pretty soon, they were all standing around grinning in excitement, their eyes roving back and forth at the myriad of open spaces and pillars, their young minds veritably exploding in excitement at all the fun they could have in here.

Kouki clapped his hands, drawing their attention to him. Bright brown eyes met the various other colors, the vibrant orbs all dancing with excitement as the adrenalin coursed through their systems. “Kay!” Kouki cried, a competitive smile spreading across his face. “We’re gonna have a contest to see who can do the craziest stunt. Winner gets to decide where we eat tonight, and the loser has to pay for the winner’s meal!” he said, drawing collective cries of excited yells and jeers as the teammates all began to jostle each other, their competitive nature rearing its head.

Kenta stepped forward, his fist clenched tightly in anticipation. “Right! Let’s go!” he cried.

And go they did. Within minutes, the boys were all flinging themselves around the parking like monkeys high on stimulants. One of them performed a corner run from one level to the other, before performing a 180 wall-flip back down. Others were using the walls and pillars to perform cat-dives and backflips, while still others were Kong-vaulting over the various concrete blocks that were left behind by the construction company.

Kouki had his eyes set on one particular jump however. The floor they were on was only 75% complete, leaving a gaping hole in the corner that led down to the floor below, which had a partially constructed wall.

“Hey, Yuu!” Kouki called out, grabbing the attention of the slightly taller boy. Yuu’s bright yellow eyes swiveled around, locking with Kouki’s own brown. “Check this out! This is for the win!” he yelled, before taking off in a sprint.

Behind him, almost everyone paused to watch and see what their leader had in mind.

As he neared the edge, Kouki swung his arms behind him to build momentum, like a Volleyball player going in for a spike. Swinging his arms forward, Kouki leapt off the edge, flinging himself almost ten feet through the air before he snagged the tiny ledge that held the steel beams together.

Pausing for only the barest of moments, Kouki then twisted about before leaping back in the opposite direction, angling back towards the ledge he had leaped from. Again, his body flew across the ten foot chasm as if he were a bird, before the brunette snagged the edge once again.

In a feat of absolute brilliance, Kouki hauled his feet up under him, placing them firmly between his hands, so that his back was horizontal the ground. Pushing off again, he flipped his body backwards, his legs flying up and over his body in a 270° arch.

Furihata Kouki had just performed a perfect backflip from a position that only Spiderman could dream of. His teammates let out cheers of awe as he descended, their eyes wide and disbelieving at the brunette’s flexibility.

Kouki let out a laugh of his own, before his feet touched the ground.

However, an ominous *CRUCNCH* had the grin disappearing from his face as the rest of his weight came to rest on the ground, his knees bending to absorb the landing.

*CRUNCH*

*CRACK*

* _TWANG_ *

Kouki let out a scream of fear as the ground beneath him suddenly caved in, the unfinished concrete too weak to support his velocity! In a roar of noise and dust, the floor broke out beneath the terrified brunette, sending him plummeting uncontrollably down onto the floor below.

A huge dust cloud was thrown up as the rest of the debris hit the floor, obscuring the brunette’s small form from the rest of his teammates.

…

His friends all stared down at the hole their leader had fallen into, disbelief and shock written across their pale faces. A total of ten seconds passed undisturbed between them as they all stared uncomprehendingly at the dust cloud that had swallowed their friend.

Kenta was the first to break the silence, the blonde emitting a loud shriek of, “FURI!!!” before racing to the edge and dropping down, careful to avoid the hole in the asphalt. He was immediately followed by the other five members, all of them letting out cries of their own.

“FURIHATA!” “FURI-CHAN!” “KOUKI! KOUKI!”

Kenta cautiously approached the hole, testing the asphalt’s weight with his foot before tentatively climbing through it. The rest of the team followed him, all of them coughing and blinking tears out of their eyes as the dust assaulted their senses.

Their eyes all widened as they heard a loud, resounding scream of pain echo out from the middle of the rubble pile, before they surged forward as one.

As the dust cleared, Furihata’s sobbing and screaming form was revealed, the brunette’s eyes blown wide in panic and pain as he grasped at his right leg, which was bent at an unnatural angle.

Kenta was the first to reach him, grabbing at Kouki’s hand to keep him from further injuring himself. “Furi! Furi, it’s okay, calm down! You need to calm down!” he shrieked, and despite his own words he seemed to be panicking himself. Kouki turned his head towards his friend, his eyes red with tears. “Kenta,” he whispered, his voice strained from screaming so loudly. “It hurts! Kenta, IT HURTS SO MUCH!” he screamed.

Kenta grabbed ahold of Kouki’s form and buried him in his chest, not knowing what else to do. “I know Furi. It’s alright, we’re gonna get help!” he said, squeezing Kouki’s hand before sending his teammates a glare. “WELL? WAIT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!” he shrieked.

* * *

 

When Kouki awoke, he found himself lying in a hospital bed inside Tokyo General Hospital. After trying to get up, he was alerted to the fact that his leg was completely encrusted in gauze and bandages, making it appear as if he had been partially mummified. A doctor soon entered to explain to him that he had fractured his leg in several places, but apart from that had received only superficial damage from a fall that would normally have killed anyone else. Frankly, he was incredibly lucky to be alive.

The doctor went on to describe for him who he must have landed just right so as to not break his back or spinal column, which would have resulted in him being paralyzed. It was also incredibly fortunate that the parking garage they had been in at the time of the incident had been nearby to the hospital, allowing them to set his leg in record time.

Still, Kouki was incredibly disheartened to hear that he would be unable to walk unaided for at least six weeks, and even after that he would still have another two weeks of walking around on crutches.

The worst part of the ordeal was when his mother had burst into his hospital room, sobbing hysterically and asking him over and over again why he would be so stupid as to do something like this. She forced him to promise her that he would never go freerunning again, and Kouki didn’t have the heart to say no to her.

And so it was with a heavy heart that he returned to Shigino Middle School, where he formally disbanded the Parkour Club, despite their pleas not to. The other members had been understandably distraught, but they could understand the reasoning for his decision; after all, the school board was facing immense pressure from parents and city officials over the safety issues raised by such a club, not to mention the fines they had incurred through the invasion and destruction of public property.

Still, Kouki didn’t want to completely forget about his dream of becoming an athlete, so upon entering high school he signed up for the first club that seemed somewhat akin to parkour: Basketball. After all, if nothing else Kouki certainly knew how to jump.

It quickly became apparent to Kouki, however, that his new sport was a different beast all of its own. He was awed by his fellow first years Kagami and Kuroko, and marveled daily at how the former could fling himself through the air more than he ever could, and how the latter could disappear at will, even on the court.

His senpais were amazing too, each one of them possessing an astonishing amount of skill and determination that rivaled anything Kouki had ever seen!

Before he knew it, he was becoming enraptured by the world of basketball. The prospect of fighting the Generation of Miracles became a new goal for him to aspire to, even if he was completely outmatched by them (or even by his own teammates).

So he worked hard in practice and cheered loudly from the benches, moved as quickly as he could when passing out towels, and even took the time to prepare honey-lemon snacks for the team after Mitobe reported that his mother had practically destroyed their kitchen.

He did everything he could to help them, but still, it wasn’t enough.

* * *

 

Kouki let out a sob of anguish as the rain beat down upon his back, soaking through his jersey jacket and forcing his normally fluffy brown hair to become plastered to his scalp.

Damn Aomine! Damn him and his stupid, smug grin! How dare he say those things! How dare he call their dreams worthless! They weren’t _worthless!_

Letting out a yell of frustration, Kouki slammed his fist against the heavy metal wall of the stadium. His teammates were still inside, probably trying to repair themselves from the mental trauma of Aomine’s punishment, but Kouki’s head just didn’t work like that. When he needed to vent, he went out and _did something._

Another sob ripped through his body as Aomine’s words once again bounced around inside his head.

Was he worthless? Was he really worth nothing to the team?

 _‘Is this all I’ll amount to?’_ he thought, taking a step back to stare at his hand, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes _. ‘Some stupid bench warmer, who’s not even good enough to stand on the court even in practice games?’_

“Is there nothing I’m good at?” he asked quietly, staring at his palm in silent reflection.

Kouki blinked his eyes, before taking another step back and glancing up at the imposing stadium before him. The metal roof was glistening with rain, the water running down in rivulets and into the gutters, making the structure appear more like a mountain-scape than a stadium.

Kouki blinked again.

**Bench.**

_*BLINK*_

**Trashcan.**

_*BLINK*_

**Drain-pipe.**

_*BLINK*_

**Slanted roof.**

_*BLINK*_

**Wall.**

_*BLINK*_

**Radio Antenna**

_*BLINK*_

**Horizon.**

Kouki blinked a few more times in astonishment as he stared out from the top of the stadium’s radio tower, his brown eyes taking in the vast expanse the view afforded his gaze. His fingertips burned from how quickly he had scaled the sides, the old tingling alight in his hands.

The rain continued to beat down on him, but the brunette could no longer feel it. His spirits were soaring high into the clouds, as high as he could go, and he wished to God that his physical body could got that high as well. Wished for wings so that he could fly away, and leave all his cares behind him on the ground.

A smile lifted the corners of Kouki’s lips.

No, I’m not worthless.

I can still do this.

As long as I still have arms and legs, I will continue to be the King of the Sky. And no one, not even Aomine, can take that away from me.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to be up there! That’s a restricted area!” a voice called up to him, and Kouki looked down in surprise to see a security guard standing at the base of the tower.

The brunette’s face blanched in surprise, before he shimmied down the side of the tower in record time.

* * *

“Ah, Furihata-kun, there you are! Where were you?” the coach asked as the brunette slipped through the doorway, discarding his bag and stripping off his soaked jacket.

“Oh, just clearing my head,” he said happily, discretely turning his body so as to hide the scrape marks on his arm from when he had slid off the roof to escape the guard.

Riko sent him a concerned stare, before nodding and gesturing behind her. “Alright, fair enough. Go take a shower and get changed. We’re heading home!” she said imperiously. Kouki nodded.

“Yes ma’am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment, I am always grateful for those. Thanks for reading, and expect more tomorrow (hopefully).
> 
> Chiao  
> -Arudon


	2. Marry Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kouki finds himself seeing things from a...different perspective. Particularly, from a bird's eye view. 
> 
> Oh, and did I mention that Midorima seriously needs to invest in a better trainer for his cat. Actually, the same could be said for Kuroko and Nigou as well.
> 
> And what's with this city and half-finished buildings anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I wasn't expecting this, but the chapter is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY longer than I thought it would be, but that is perfectly fine. More content for my readers Yay also it's two in the morning what is this I have no life!!
> 
> Enjoy.

Kouki couldn’t believe how much of a difference having Kiyoshi on their team made. The addition of the cheerful center created a solid backbone for the rest of the team to build upon, and soon their inside (which had once been their greatest weakness) became the strongest part of the team. Practically in the blink of an eye, they were standing in the gymnasium of the Winter Cup Stadium, going through the initiation ceremony along with all the other teams.

Kouki was surprised, however, when the coach ordered _him_ of all people to tag along after Kuroko when he got a phone call, summoning him (whatever that meant) to some kind of meeting. Not knowing what to expect, the brunette trailed along behind the shorter male as Kuroko left the stadium, heading towards the front steps.

Kouki was absolutely _not_ expecting _all five_ of the Generation of Miracles to be there when they arrived however. Most notable was the arrival of their Captain, Akashi Seijūrō, who was the only member of their elite group that Kouki had not already met.

And oh man, did the redhead _ever_ leave an impression.

Never before had Kouki encountered _anyone_ with a more intimidating aura than that which Akashi exuded. It was no wonder as to why his knees gave out after watching Akashi attempting to gouge Kagami’s eyes with a pair of scissors. After all, the most violent actions Kouki had ever come upon had been on the other side of a television screen firnly placed in the realm of fiction and completely non-threatening (with the exception of horror movies).

Still, even after this rocky beginning, the Winter Cup proved to be an entirely new chapter for Seirin. Kouki could hardly believe it, but soon enough they were winning against the likes of Tōō and Nakamiya South, tying with Shutoku, and even beating Yōsen, who's twin aces (Murasakibara Atsushi and Himuro Tatsuya) had singlehandedly destroyed the previous two teams they had played by not allowing even a single point to be scored on them.

And Kouki got to see some amazing sights while he was at it, too. Aomine's and Kagami's duel in the Zone left everyone breathless, and Kouki's legs grew sore just from  _watching_ the two go at each other. The brunette had blinked in astonishment at Himuro's miraculous Mirage Shot, the fake so good that it fooled him even though he was on the sideline.

Soon, they were once again facing off against Kaijo and their Miracle, Kise Ryōta, who had somehow managed to become even more intimidating than before thanks to the addition of his new move, Perfect Copy, where he mixed and matched the abilities of the other GOM.

_Talk about unfair!!_

However, it was during the course of this match in particular that Kouki’s life was changed forever, because for reasons unbeknownst to him, _he_ was the one that the coach decided to replace Izuki with.

Granted, Kouki was only in the game for a grand total of two minutes, but it was easily the two most _intense_ minutes of his life. The level of pressure that everyone on the court was operating under was **_astounding_** , and Kouki was genuinely impressed with his upper classmen and the Shadow/Light duo for being able to shoulder it all. By the end of it, Kouki’s knees were shaking, and he was pretty sure they were going to have to take him off on a stretcher.

The irony of this was not lost on Kouki, for if any of his teammates were to be faced with the prospect of leaping off a ten story building and onto the roof of another, they would probably start screaming in fear and demanding to be let down, while Kouki would already be flying through the air with glee.

However, Kouki’s time on the court was not only limited to the Kaijo match: in a scene that might as well have been pulled from one of his nightmares, he was paired up against none other than _the_ Akashi Seijūrō, who was (in Kouki’s opinion) quite possible the scariest person alive.

It didn’t help that Kouki managed to embarrass himself in front of the entire stadium by tripping over his own shoes seconds after he got on the court. He was pretty sure Akashi had no idea what to do with him, simply because Kouki was so weak.

He felt like a small, petrified dog facing off against an imposing lion. HOW THE HELL IS A DOG SUPPOSED TO BEAT A LION?!

Nevertheless, the brunette served his purpose as a decoy, and for a short time he enabled his teammates to effectively put a stop the redhead’s vicious ankle break. He was eventually beaten, of course, but it was still a starting point for Seirin to begin witling down on Rakuzan’s offense.

Kouki could not even begin to describe his elation when they won, the final battle seeming to have taken almost a lifetime to come to fruition, but still, _they had won!_

And Kouki had helped to make it happen, even if his role had been small and virtually inconsequential.

And that made him practically cry with joy.

* * *

Naturally, their triumph over Rakuzan led to an immediate (if expected) boost in the Seirin Basketball Club’s popularity (and therefore budget). The student body was elated, and practically half the school was cheering for the basketball team everywhere they went. Kouki had never received a love letter before in his life, but in the course of three hours he had been confessed to twice, kissed four times (three on the cheek and once on the lips) and had no less than seven love letters plunged into his locker and bag.

Another effect was that professional teams from universities began sending scouts to observe this relatively unknown team’s practices, causing undue stress for many of their members (much to their coach’s chagrin).

One _unexpected_ side effect, however, was the constant invites from Akashi to the Seirin High team to participate in what Kouki could only describe as “basketball picnics.”

This usually involved the GOM plus Seirin and a few others getting together to do various activities, like painting a new Basketball court or participating in a foot race, before always getting around to playing a few rounds of basketball (followed immediately by food).

It was…nice, in a way, and Kouki soon began to enjoy the outings, even becoming eager to know what they were going to do the next time.

It was also a good way for him to slowly start to get to know the GOM a little better. Initially, Kouki was shocked that a group of individuals with personalities (and appearances) so colorful could even exist in this world, but after a while of gradually acclimating to them, he began to see past their quirks and idiosyncrasies, and started to appreciate them as what they really were: people, just like you and me.

That’s not to say that there were no rough patches, of course. Midorima’s habit of bringing along a lucky item to every single meeting, for example, was incredibly disconcerting at first, but over time Kouki became accustomed to seeing the otherwise totally serious green-haired male carrying around something as ridiculous as a toy train or a bag of rubber duckies. He even began to laugh alongside Takao at all of Midorima’s _‘tsundere-isms,’_ as the Hawkeye referred to them.  

Murasakibara was, surprisingly, the one that Kouki managed to get along the easiest with. This was mostly due to the fact that Kouki had planned ahead and taken it upon himself to feed the giant a steady supply of snacks and candies every time he saw him. It got to the point where the purple-haired titan had memorized his name (a rarity in and of itself), and even shortened it to, “Furi-chin,” something that Kuroko told him meant that Murasakibara liked him _a lot_.

Kise was his least favorite, as he had an annoying habit of trying to kidnap Kouki every time he saw him. Once, he even went so far as to try to take Kouki home with him, and only released him after Aomine stole the brunette out of the blonde’s arms and placed him back on the ground, whispering an order to run into his ear.

Kouki had never climbed a building faster before in his life.

Kise’s reasoning for this was that he kept saying that Kouki looked cute and fluffy, like a little puppy that had been lost out on the street. Kouki managed to put up with it for the most part, but eventually ended up hanging out next to Kuroko whenever the supermodel was present, simply because the bluenette knew how to effectively keep him at bay.

Despite Kouki’s lingering resentment towards Aomine, the brunette eventually found it within his heart to forgive him after he watched him actually getting along with other people and cracking jokes. The tanned male never really spoke to Kouki (except for that one time, as previously mentioned), and that was just fine by the brunette.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, after all. Neh?

And besides, Momoi was infinitely more approachable for the brunette than her childhood friend. Despite being absolutely gorgeous, the pinkette also had a few quirks of her own (such as an overly fond disposition towards “TETSU-KUN!”).

However, for all these new appraisals and observations, Kouki never could manage to get over the crippling fear he had of Akashi. Every time the redhead’s burning heterochromatic gaze drifted over him, the brunette would freeze up and start shaking in terror. He tried to rationalize it in his head: after all, the guy did try to _stab_ Kagami. But still, Akashi had expressed his remorse about the event after they won the match, and afterwards had shown no signs of aggression whatsoever towards anyone that the brunette knew (except for the occasional threat if Kise became too annoying or if Aomine and Kagami tried to kill each other again).

Still, the fear remained deeply embedded within Kouki, despite his best attempts to rid himself of it.

 _‘Oh well, looks like I’ve developed Akashi-phobia,’_ he thought as he sat down on a chair, a plate of brisket clutched tightly in his hands as his light brown eyes roved over the assembled basketball players.

They were out on yet another picnic. This time, it was just the GOM plus Kagami, Kuroko, Takao, Himuro, and him (for some reason). After cleaning out a pool that Akashi had found (and subsequently watching Aomine and Kagami try to drown each other in the deep end) they had all made their way over to the basketball courts and played several exhausting rounds against each other. Kouki had marveled again at how Aomine and Kagami dueled against each other in the Zone, while Kise attempted to outshine them both by using his Perfect Copy ability. They had all ultimately been defeated by Akashi’s Emperor Eye, but it had still been entertaining.

Afterwards, Kuroko had invited all of them over to his house, where his Father had prepared a barbecue for them. Kouki smiled around his forkful of brisket, marveling at the taste of the smoked meat in his mouth.

He perked up in surprise when a body sat down in the chair next to him, and looking over he started when he saw the sharply regal outline of Midorima Shintarō, the Generation of Miracles #1 shooter. Today, Midorima was clutching what looked like some sort of portable pet carrier, which Kouki could only assume was his lucky item, while his other hand held tightly to his own food. “Hello Furihata Kouki,” Midorima said as he caught the brunette staring, to which Kouki’s face reddened considerably.  “Hi Shin-cha-…Midorima-kun,” he said in response, almost blurting out Takao’s nickname by accident.

The Hawkeye was seriously beginning to rub off on the brunette.

The green haired male nodded and placed the carrier down, focusing his attention on the food instead. “How are you enjoying your meal?” he asked, turning to stare out the corner of his eyes at Kouki in what he probably wasn’t aware was an intimidating manner.

The brunette smiled, more than used to the taller male’s awkward attempts at small talk. “It’s nice, Midorima-kun,” he said, taking another bite of the brisket and humming quietly in satisfaction. “Kuroko’s dad really knows how to cook!” he exclaimed.

Midorima nodded in agreement. “Yes, he does appear to be performing adequately, even if his sign was ranked last for today,” he said, pushing up his glasses with one hand in a gesture that Kouki had long since come to recognize as habitual.

“Is that so?” Kouki asked, humoring Midorima’s zodiac obsession for a moment. “What was my ranking?” he asked.

Midorima scoffed, pushing up his glasses yet again with his taped fingers. “You have been spending too much time with Takao, Furihata. You should pay more attention to your fortune!” he said, his tone completely serious as if he were telling Kouki that he had terminal cancer and only one month left to live.

“It is lucky that you are the same sign as him, however. Scorpio was ranked third today, so you should be fine unless you attempt to perform something overtly challenging.”

Kouki nodded, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips.

“Ne, Midorimacchi!~” the voice of a particularly annoying blonde cut in, interrupting their conversation. Kouki looked up in surprise as the golden menace was suddenly looming over them, the model’s gaze thankfully focused not on him, but on Midorima’s bag. “What’s in the cat carrier? Hmm?” he asked, tilting his head excitedly.

Midorima scoffed again, pushing his glasses up with one hand. “What else do you think would be in a cat carrier, you fool?” he asked, reaching down to open up the carrier and withdraw what was inside. “It’s a cat, my lucky item for today.”

And sure enough, there was: a fully grown, calico colored cat with bright green eyes and soft little whiskers. The cat sat up regally as it was placed on Midorima’s lap, observing its surroundings with what Kouki could only describe as disdain.

Kise’s mouth dropped open, before a high pitched squeal of delight escaped from between his lips. Reaching out, the blonde swiped the cat from Midorima’s lap and began spinning about with it high in the air, his eyes sparkling in delight. “IT’S SO CUTE!” he shrieked, drawing a startled gaze from everyone around him.

Midorima blinked in astonishment, before a cry of outrage ripped out of his throat and he moved to stop the blonde’s mistreatment of the animal.

“Don’t hold him so tightly you fool! You’ll crush his lungs!” the Shooting Guard cried, attempting to battle the blonde for ownership of the by now bewildered (and incredibly dizzy) feline.

The rest of the GOM and company sighed in exasperation, gazing unimpressed at the two as they attempted to tear each other’s face off. While less common than those between Aomine and Kagami, fights broke out between Midorima and Kise often enough that no one was surprised anymore.

What did surprise them, however, was a small bark of curiosity coming from in between their legs.

“Arf?”

Kise and Midorima froze, their green and gold eyes widening in horror before slowly turning down to stare at the excited husky that was panting at their knees. While he was still barely a few moths older than when Kuroko had first found him, Nigou had definitely grown considerably in that short amount of time, and was no longer than tiny puppy he had started out as.

His big blue eyes stared up at the pair of basketball players excitedly, before they narrowed onto the cat in Kise’s hands.

A low growl suddenly began to rumble out from Nigou’s chest, vibrating between his bared teeth as he recognized his natural rival. The cat hissed back, its fur puffing up to make it appear larger while it scrabbled uselessly at Kise’s hands.

“Nigou…” Kuroko said warningly, taking a step forward to try and call the canine off. “Nigou, come here boy!” he called.

This, however, only seemed to set him the dog off, and with a vicious, “ARF!!!” Nigou leaped into the air, his jaws snapping at the cat. Kise let out a yelp of fear and twisted away from the husky, and in his moment of panic the cat managed to writhe its way out of the model’s grip and drop to the ground. The moment its feet touched it took off like a shot, tearing across the yard with a pursuing Nigou hot on its tail.

“NEKOTAKA!!!!” Midorima shrieked, tearing after both animals with a look of horror etched across his face. In the blink of an eye, everyone was dropping what they were doing and chasing after the shooter, racing to the open gate of the wooden fence.

No one noticed as a certain brunette chose to _hop over_ the fence instead. No one, except for a pair of red and gold eyes, which narrowed in curiosity.

* * *

Catching up to the animals was not easy an easy task. At first, they thought that the cat had somehow managed to give Nigou the slip, before another round of barking alerted them to the dog’s new location, sending them once again sprinting around corners and down back alleyways.

Very quickly, the began to enter the more crowded market district, the excess of people making it difficult to track. If it wasn’t for Kuroko’s uncanny ability to track Nigou (and Takao’s uncanny ability to track Kuroko) they would have certainly lost sight of them completely. As it was, the group of basketball players finally came to a stop at the base of a construction site, Nigou’s small form still yapping and growling in anger as the dog paced back and forth.

“Nigou!” Kuroko said, pushing between the larger players' forms to get closer to the pup, whereupon he knelt down and fastened a leash to Nigou’s collar. “BAD DOG! DON’T EVER RUN OFF LIKE THAT AGAIN!” he yelled, holding up an admonishing finger. Nigou whimpered and tucked his tail between his legs, pressing his head into Kuroko’s hand as if asking for forgiveness.

Kuroko sighed as he patted the dog, before his bright blue eyes looked around in confusion. “Well, here’s Nigou. But where’s…”

“NEKOTAKAAAAAA!!!” Midorima screamed, causing everyone to jump in surprise and glance over to the green haired male, who was staring upwards in horror. Following his gaze, the rest of the group let out gasps of shock as they too spotted the cat.

There, near the top of the unfinished three story high rise, was the cat, perched precariously on a narrow ledge and shaking in fear.

Everyone stared in silent awe at the feline, completely flummoxed as to how exactly it had managed to get all the way up there.

“Ne…Midorimacchi, I’m so sorry for your loss” Kise said, stepping forward and clapping the taller male on the shoulder. “Maybe if we pool all our money together, we can buy you another ca--”

“THAT’S MY SISTER’S CAT YOU FOOL! I’M NOT JUST GOING TO LET HIM DIE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT SHE WOULD _DO TO ME?”_ Midorima shrieked, throwing Kise’s arm off of his shoulder as if the blonde was physically repulsing him (an astounding feat, considering the model was already drawing looks of appreciation from passerby’s). Looking back up at the cat, Midorima shook his head in disbelief. “How did he even get up there?” he asked rhetorically, pushing his glasses up onto his nose with his bandaged fingers. “He’s declawed in fact, nanodayo!” he said, drawing a quiet snicker from Takao.

Scratching his chin, Midorima cast his gaze around, looking for anything vaguely basketball shaped. “He might be high enough for me to shoot something at him. If I aim it just right, it could knock him off and--”

“Absolutely not, Shintarou,” Akashi said sharply, cutting the Shooting Guard off abruptly. “That would do nothing but kill it. Besides, lobbing debris into the air around a construction site is completely out of the question!” he said admonishingly, causing a grimace to spread across Midorima’s face.

“He’s right Shin-chan,” Takao piped up, placing a hand on Midorima’s shoulder (which was much more graciously accepted than Kise’s, a clear mark of favoritism). “And even if you _did_ manage to knock him off, I’m not sure anyone here would be able to catch him! I’m pretty sure even _Aomine_ couldn’t handle that.”

“Where is Dai-chan anyway?” Momoi asked abruptly, prompting everyone to look around in confusion before a loud crash alerted them to the cobalt-blue haired boy’s location.

“Owwww~!” the ace complained, sitting up from the wreckage of the scaffolding he had just attempted to climb. “ _What the hell?_ This stuff is **_way_** harder to climb than the roof back at Tōō!” he whined, wincing in pain as a falling pipe conked him on the head.

“Aomine-kun, please be more careful next time!” Kuroko said, seeming to appear out of nowhere at Aomine’s side and subsequently causing him to jump in surprise. “AH! WHAT THE HELL TETSU!” he shrieked, before wincing as another pipe jabbed him in the small of his back.

Kuroko frowned, before offering a pale hand to the other. “I’d hate to see you hurt yourself any more than you already have,” the bluenette said, hauling his old partner to his feet with a noticeable amount of effort.

“HA! Speak for yourself!” Kagami called out, a wide grin on his face. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Kagami yelled, “Next time try landing on your neck, _Aho_ mine!” 

A tick mark appeared upon the darker bluenette’s face, while a fiery aura began to pour off his skin. “You wanna go, _Baka_ gami?” he asked, rolling up his sleeves in preparation.

“Now, now, I’m sure no one wants a fight,” Himuro said, stepping in between the two rivals with a calming smile plastered on his face. “Let’s just all calm down a bit and think rationally about this, ok?” he asked, forcing the two aces to hang their heads in shame.

“Ha! Himurocchi has you all behaving like little children!~” Kise teased, instantly drawing twin death glares from the two lights, who momentarily set aside their hatred for each other to focus on a common enemy.

“I _said **no**_ **_fighting!"_**  Himuro yelled, turning to send Kise a look that so clearly read, ‘You’re not helping the situation any, so shut the hell up!’

“EVERYONE BE QUIET!” Midorima yelled, his tone uncharacteristically angry. “ONLY SPEAK IF YOU HAVE A GENUINE IDEA ON HOW TO HELP NEKOTAKA DOWN SAFELY!” he ordered, sending all of them his own threatening glare.

A beat passed, before Murasakibara’s voice broke the silence.

“Muro-chin, I’m hungry~” he said, reaching out to tug on Himuro’s jacket while drawing an incredulous stare from the green eyed tsundere. Himuro turned to look up at his teammate, his one visible eye flashing with long-suffering patience. “But you just ate at the barbecue, Atsushi,” he reasoned, his tone gentle but firm, like a mother trying to reason with a child. “Don’t care. I want snacks~” the giant said in reply, looking longingly over at the convenience store.

Himuro sighed and shook his head. “Can’t you at least wait until after we rescue Midorima’s cat?” he asked.

The purple-haired titan pursed his lips in a pout, before a flicker of motion drew his magenta eyes to the neighboring rooftops.

“Huh?!” he yelped in surprise, the look of perpetual laziness disappearing from his face for just a second. Turning to look back down at Himuro, the giant gaped at his partner before looking back at the rooftop. “Well, if we’re trying to rescue the cat, it looks like Furi-chin is already working on it,” he said, drawing confused looks from all his teammates.

“EH?!” they all asked simultaneously, before following the magenta-haired teens direction as he pointed out a moving figure atop the rooftops.

And sure enough, there, leaping onto the final roof separating him from the construction site, was Furihata Kouki, a large backpack strapped to his back and a look of determination printed across his face.

**_“EEEEEHHHH!!!??!!”_ **

* * *

 “ _What the hell?_ This stuff is **_way_** harder to climb than the roof back at Tōō!” Aomine moaned, making brown eyes roll in disbelief. _‘Yeah right,_ Aho _mine,’_ Kouki thought. _‘That stuff is child’s play! Wait until you’ve tackled a **real** wall, then we’ll see if it’s harder to climb. Still, he does seem to have the right idea…’_

In a move eerily reminiscent of Kuroko, the brunette managed to quietly extract himself from the group and make his way over to a neighboring storefront. “Excuse me sir?” he asked a man sitting on a bench in front of it. The man was dressed in a business suit and dress shoes, and was clearly waiting for someone as he fiddled with his phone. Bespectacled olive eyes looked up at him in surprise, clearly not expecting to be interrupted. “Do you mind if I borrow that pack for a minute?” Kouki asked, pointing to the backpack resting at the man’s feet.

The man’s eyes traced up and down his body for a moment, taking into account his smaller frame and shaky disposition, before clearly classifying him as non-threatening and thus (for the most part) trustworthy. “Sure,” he replied, unzipping the top of the backpack and taking out a laptop and a few file folders before handing the now empty sack over to the brunette.

“Thanks!” Kouki said, flashing him a wide and eager grin before slinging the pack about his shoulders and moving back out into the street.

Looking back and forth, brown eyes observed the store front before him carefully, before alighting upon some ornamental metal-work decorating the edge of the convenient store’s roof. Shaking out his arms, Kouki bent his knees a little, loosening up his blood flow as if in preparation for a heavy workout.

Taking a running start, Kouki leaned his chest back slightly as he kicked off the wall, allowing him to transfer all of his momentum upwards instead of out. This propelled the brunette high into the air, before throwing out his hands and grasping onto the metal latticework. Kouki gasped as the dirt and grime built up on it rubbing off onto his palms in a wonderfully recognizable feeling.

The mark of an avid parkour fanatic: they were never uncomfortable with dirty hands.

Still, the slippery surface of the metal almost cost him his grip, but the brunette was able to save himself by planting his feet and kicking off, his legs almost instinctively pulling up beneath him to follow through with the movement. After pausing for a quick breath (give him a break, it had been months since his excursion to the top of the Interhigh stadium), Kouki then stood up and took off, vaulting and jumping his way across the roof, becoming more comfortable every second as muscle memory began to kick in.

A smile began to spread across his face as he remembered how to Kong-vault, and the adventurous brunette even dared to throw in a few side-flips every now and then, the execution of which had the blood rushing to the tips of his extremities in an all-too-familiar sensation.

Shaking his head to clear it, the brunette focused on the upcoming divide between this rooftop and the next, the gap not even five feet wide.

Baby-steps for someone with his level of experience, even _if_ he was out of practice.

Kouki couldn’t contain his infectious grin as he prepared to make the jump, the recognizable rush of adrenalin a very-much missed sensation for him. Just for kicks, Kouki decided to swing his legs up over his head as he leapt, executing a perfect front-flip (and unknowingly wowing his audience below), before performing a textbook tuck-and roll maneuver to soften his landings. Kouki hissed in satisfaction as the familiar feeling hard gravel rushing up to meet his shoulder coursed through his system, the impact hardly even notable due to his rolling momentum (even if the backpack was throwing him off a tiny bit).

Brown eyes surveyed the new rooftop as he sat up, taking in the large chimney looming at the far end of it. Within seconds, the brunette was hurtling towards it, his body flowing over any obstacles that managed to get in his way as if they weren’t even there, while his eyes continued to examine the wall before him. Halfway up the side, Kouki noted with interest, was a small ledge that was just the perfect size for a kick-off point to get him the rest of the way up.

Deciding on this course of action, Kouki decided to perform a tic tac maneuver. Leaping forward, the brunette jumped at the wall at an ever-so-slight angle so that he could kick off up and to the right. Kouki twisted his body about as he sailed through the air, drawing his legs up to land in a crouching position on the ledge. Pausing for just a moment as he stood up, Kouki sent a sidelong glance at the remainder of the wall, before walking over to the base and leaping up, his jump just powerful enough to take him within range of the ledge. Snagging his hands on the edge of the brick work, the brunette hauled himself up, panting in effort as he did so.

Now came the hard part: getting onto the construction site.

Kouki took a moment to stare down at the skeleton structure of the building before him, memories of a hauntingly similar structure coming to mind. Kouki shook his head vigorously. ‘ _No! I do **not** have time to wallow in the past. Focus, Kouki. Focus!’ _ he thought to himself, before nodding and taking another, closer look at the building.

There was a good seven-foot gap between the ledge he was on and the nearest beam, which thankfully looked to be solid enough to hold his weight. If he had a running start he could probably be able to make it, but if he overshot…well….

Kouki continued scanning, before his eyes alighted upon a column that was slightly closer to him and bristling with rungs. He could use those to climb part of the way at least.

Nodding, Kouki backed up to give himself a running start, before once again flinging himself through the air, his arms and legs outstretched before him. Colliding with the pillar, the brunette hissed in pain as the metal of the rungs cut into his hands a bit as he grabbed ahold of them, the slight stinging sensation he received as a result almost enough to make him lose his grip (an action that would most likely prove to be fatal at this height). Blinking the tears out of his eyes, Kouki began to climb the pillar, the iron rungs and bolts providing easy handgrips for someone who was used to climbing drainpipes (which had even less to hold onto).

Kouki cursed quietly in his head as he ran out of rungs, the remainder of the pillar consisting only of smooth metal. At least he was at the cat’s height now, but he was still on the wrong side of the building.

 _‘HOW THE HELL DID IT EVEN GET ALL THE WAY UP HERE ANYWAY!?’_ he thought to himself, before shaking it off and casting about with his eyes.

There was a metal bar spanning the gap in the middle of the structure, which might allow him to swing over to where the cat was (if it didn’t give out under his weight). Glancing about one more time, Kouki clicked his teeth in annoyance when he couldn’t spot any safer routes besides the one he had already noted.

Well, so be it!

After all, it hadn’t been _that_ long since he’d last done a cat leap and swing. Now, if he could just remember how to correctly position his….

Taking a calming breath, Kouki tensed his muscles before relaxing them, readying himself for the leap of faith. With a final exhale, he pushed off with all of his might, spinning about in midair so as to grab on to the bar. Snagging the metal rod with his fingers, Kouki tightened his grip and swung through, so as to build up his momentum and take him across to the other side. The added velocity sent the brunette hurtling into a beam, which he hastily grabbed on to after falling a bit.

Pulling himself up on top of the narrow metal spar, Kouki didn’t dare rise from a crouch, but instead held on with his hands as he eyed the cat, the feline still resting on a ledge just a few feet away from him.

The cat’s bright green swiveled about to fix on Kouki’s own light brown, the diminutive animal’s body shaking in terror under the brunette’s gaze as it desperately clung onto its tiny ledge with what traction its hind claws could provide it.

“Hey,” Kouki called out as he began to inch his way towards the cat, his voice low and gentle so as to not frighten it even more than it already was. After all, if he moved too quickly the cat was liable to leap off, something that the brunette would like to avoid at all cost.

“Don’t be scared! I’m here to get you down,” he said, a hint of pleading present in his voice as he inched past the last few feet needed to place the cat in grabbing distance.

The cat must have either been comforted by the tone of his voice, or just too scared to react, because Kouki was able to grab the back of its neck with almost no problems, the feline going limp in his grip as he pulled it over to him.

Sitting down on the beam, Kouki allowed his feet to dangle off either side, leaving him perfectly balanced in the middle. Swinging the backpack off of his shoulders, Kouki unzipped the largest section of the bag and gingerly lowered the cat into it, before zipping it up once again.

Thankfully for the brunette, the cat was just small enough to fit.

Kouki sighed, before getting back up into a crouch position.

Now to get back down.

* * *

The small crowd of basketball prodigies all looked on in stunned silence as Furihata Kouki, the Chihuahua, the one that they had all considered to be a shaky, nervous wreck at the _best_ of times, carefully and calmly descended from the construction site, his movements as lithe and graceful as a cat.

Even Aomine, the most tenacious of loudmouths, found himself rendered utterly speechless by the brunette’s ease of motion, his fluidity and balance lending an almost otherworldly grace to his otherwise ordinary frame.

Ten pairs of eyes followed him as he leapt from the site back onto the ledge he had initially started from, before descending back down to the roof proper, and finally dropping down over the side onto the street.

After wiping off his hands on his pants, Kouki began to walk over to them, a hitherto absent spring lightening his steps. Kouki brushed his windswept hair out of his eyes as he swung the backpack off of his shoulders, unzipping it as he did so to pull out the nearly forgotten.

“Here you go Midorima-kun,” he said as he approached them, holding the feline out to the green haired shooter, who accepted it almost absentmindedly, too busy staring in disbelief at the brunette’s miraculously undamaged form.

Stepping back, Furihata admired their almost uniform expression of shock and awe with a growing sense of pride. _‘That’s **right** , this little dog is good for **something** at least!’_ he thought, before a flush of embarrassment spread across his face as he realized what he had just thought, an accompanying grin following shortly after.

Kouki’s smile widened. “Ta-da!” he said quietly, waving his hands in a small celebration.

And just like that, the moment of silence broke with an audible * **SNAP** *, and suddenly it was as if everyone was trying to say everything on their minds all at once, simultaneously.

“ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!” “HOLY SHIT DUDE! YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE FUCKING SPIDERMAN!!” “THAT WASN’T IN YOUR DATA! HOW COULD YOU HAVE HIDDEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM ME! I SEE _EVERYTHING!”_ “THAT WAS SO COOL!! HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT!!” “BY THE GODS, YOU MUST BE FATE’S CHOSEN WARRIOR!!”

Before Kouki could quite understand what was happening, he was being mobbed by the Rainbow Squad and their partners, all of them acting as if the brunette was some kind of alien that had descended to Earth right before their very eyes. Kouki laughed aloud as he was quickly surrounded, his smile reflected back on the faces of everyone present.

“Holy shit man! Why didn’t you ever tell me you were _awesome!”_ Takao asked, slinging an arm over Kouki’s shoulder while a brilliant smile peeled across his face. “Because you didn’t ask,” Kouki replied back quickly, prompting Takao’s grin to widen even further.

“Furihata-kun, that was incredible!” Kuroko said, a genuine look of admiration appearing upon his normally emotionless face, shocking the brunette even further.

Kouki yelped as a blur of gold suddenly tackled him, while Kise’s high pitched squeal echoing in loudly in his ears. “FURIHATACCHI! YOU’RE SO AMAZING!! I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID YOU’RE NOT A PUPPY YOU’RE A ROCK STAR OKAY WELL THAT STILL MAKES YOU A PUPPY PLEASE TEACH ME HOW TO BE AS BRILLIANT AS YOU!” he screamed, squeezing the brunette so tightly that Kouki was pretty sure his lungs were about to burst.

The smaller male let out another yelp as four hands simultaneously grabbed him from the blonde’s grasp, lifting him up and holding him in midair.

Both Kagami and Aomine stared at him with looks of near reverence, their red and blue eyes both wide in awe. ~“Teach me how to do that!”~ They said together, their words totally in sync and almost terrifying the brunette half to death.

Before he could answer, another pair of hands grabbed ahold of him (Kouki was seriously starting to get tired of being manhandled) this time by Himuro, the Yōsen Shooting Guard holding the shaking brunette out of the range of the rest of the grabbing hands. “That was seriously impressive, Furihata-kun,” he said, before setting the brunette down, much to Kouki’s appreciation.

“This was in none of your records!” Momoi exclaimed from beside him, looking up at Kouki with an almost accusatory gaze, as if saying, _‘How dare you hide something from me!’_

“Eh-hehe…sorry?” Kouki said, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment while the pinkette continued to stare angrily at him.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind him and snagged him by the back of his collar, drawing him backwards and into a solid chest. Everyone immediately stopped clamoring for attention as they saw this, and instead fell dead silent. Kouki was about to ask why when his captor’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Furihata Kouki,” a voice like liquid velvet murmured into his ear, and the brunette froze because, _holy-shit, he_ **_knew that voice._**

THAT WAS THE VOICE FROM HIS NIGHTMARES!!

“Y-yes…” Kouki stammered, not daring to move a muscle as the dangerous redhead seemed to consider something.

 _“Kouki…”_ he said slowly, drawing out the name as if he were testing its feel upon his tongue, like tasting fine wine.

Suddenly, the brunette let out a yelp as he was spun around abruptly and met face to face with burning heterochromatic eyes, the red and gold orbs staring excitedly into his own frightened brown ones.

To those who knew him well (or in other words the GOM), Akashi’s expression of sheer admiration and respect, coupled with a fair amount of eagerness, would have floored them. Akashi _never_ looked admiringly at someone else (for hardly anyone could do _anything_ that was not already well within the range of the redhead’s abilities), but here he was, staring at Kouki as if he were an angel that had just fallen from heaven straight into his lap.

But through the warped filter of Kouki’s fear addled mind, all he could see was Akashi smiling demonically while he stared into Kouki’s soul, appearing like he wanted nothing more than to devour every last portion of him, only to vomit him up later to make room for his next meal.

Looking over Kouki’s shoulder, Akashi eyed the rest of the assembled basketball players. “I call dibs,” he called out, drawing groans of disappointment from the majority of them (again, the GOM) and looks of confusion from the rest.

“W-What?” Kouki asked, a nervous smile spreading across his face as he began to tremble in Akashi’s arms.

At the sound of his voice, Akashi’s eyes reverted back to his own, those heterochromatic depths filled with elation and what Kouki perceived as malice, but in reality was just Akashi’s determination. “From now on you belong to me and only me, Kouki!” Akashi exclaimed, drawing a startled look from the brunette.

“E-Eh?”

“You’re mine.”

“ _What?!_ ”

Akashi wrapped a hand around the brunette’s waist and brought him in tight to his body, their hips pressed together and his eyes narrowing in excitement. He marveled at how Kouki’s form seemed to slot right into his own, as if he were made for it. And the expression on his face...

It was just too cute.

 _“Marry me,”_ he whispered, the words slipping unbidden from his mouth in one of his rare mistakes.

…

No one spoke a word as Akashi realized what he just said, but rather than act embarrassed, Akashi simply looked over at the others, his gaze challenging them to call him out.

No one dared.

However, the same could not be said for Kouki, who was blushing so deeply that his face now resembled a ripe tomato ready to be picked. His pupils had shrunk down to the size of pinpricks, while tears beaded at the corners of his eyes.

“ **EEEEHHHHH???!!** ” he shrieked in terror, before instinctively twisting out of the redhead’s constrictor hold and running away.

Well, actually running ‘AWAY’ probably wouldn’t be the best word to describe it. A better way would be to say that he ran over to the nearest wall and then ran ‘UP,’ escaping to the relative safety of the rooftop. Akashi blinked before realization over what just happened and he took off in a sprint, chasing after the fleeing Chihuahua.

“He’s trying to get away on the rooftops! AFTER HIM!” Akashi cried, and the rest of the GOM and company obediently fell in line behind him.

Akashi’s eyes glinted with excitement. This Kouki was rare: he possessed a skill that Akashi didn’t, and excelled at it far more than the redhead could ever see himself doing.

That fact alone made him a prize worth pursuing.

And pursue him he would, and it would be a glorious chase. And in the end, he would have him.

For he was Akashi Seijūrō, and as such he _always_ won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, we got the beginning of Akafuri. Next chapter wraps it all up with a nice neat bow, and we get to see our favorite Emperor take to the rooftops as well in pursuit of his cat/dog/bird/whatever the hell Kouki is I cannot make up my mind.
> 
> Also I hate Chihuahuas. What? They're loud, practically useless, and they bit me a lot when I was a kid. So whenever I picture Kouki I always picture a small dog, but not necessarily a Chihuahua. Because Kouki's not nearly that noisy.
> 
> Also, did I tell you this is my first time writing Akafuri? Like, actually putting it to words? Well it is, so please be nice to me!


End file.
